MIDLANDS HURRICANES coach Mark Dunning says the noise around the Championship and League One merger has proved a distraction for some of his players.
The Hurricanes looked all set for a club record finish at the halfway point following a terrific start to the season, and were well fancied for a top four finish.
However, with the play-offs eventually scrapped as a result of the decision to merge the leagues for 2026, Midlands ended the season with a run of seven defeats in eight prior to the final game against Newcastle.
Dunning told Canes TV: “We set off in November last year with some goals and targets and we were well on track at one point, but the last six weeks with the talk of what the game is doing and where it’s going and the leagues amalgamating, some people have got carried away and taken their eye off the ball.
“I’ve been talking to the boys for a number of weeks about controlling the controllables. We can’t control what the game looks like or who’s playing where.
“It’s bittersweet at the moment. We had a good two thirds of the year, I just feel like the last six weeks we’ve let ourselves down.”